NHL investigating FSN Pittsburgh over Gagne no-goal
On the surface it may sound like a silly thing to quibble about, especially since the Flyers still won the game convincingly, but the fact of the matter is that this was a serious malfunction of the video replay system that simply can't be happening in our game, and both the Flyers and the NHL are in the right to be proactive in determining a cause for the error.
Ed. Note: BSH reached out to FSN Pittsburgh on Monday but our calls were not returned. We'll try again tomorrow.
over 2 years ago
Ben Feldman
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Although I don’t mind this incident because we won convincingly anyway, the principle remains that all replays should be reviewed. The no-call didn’t affect the outcome, but it could have. Next time this happens, it might cost a team a point or two, maybe even in the playoffs or something. This cannot happen. Ever. Period.
The no-call didn’t affect the outcome, but it could have.
And that’s the issue here. Even if it was as the result of user error on the part of FSN, the league needs to make sure that nothing like this happens again. One network’s mistake could be another’s carte blanche to send what they want the league to see.
Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?
nothing will happen to the pens
they have plausible deniability. just like when they were tanking games just so they could grab crosby.
Eat what the monkey eats, then eat the monkey. -U.S. Navy survival guidance
How could they have tanked games in a season that wasn’t even played???? Remember they were the 2nd worst team that year(Carolina was the worst) and the NHL used the lottery after the lockout. Every team had a chance to get Crosby that year, Pitt just had a higher chance then others.
The NHL used the "balls" system that year
They used a lottery-style ping-pong ball selection based on recent playoff appearances, then “snaked” the draft instead of doing each round top to bottom.
Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Columbus, and the Rags had three balls.
Anaheim, Atlanta, Calgary, Carolina, Chicago, Edmonton, LA, Minnesota, Nashville, and Phoenix had two balls.
Everyone else, like Hitler, only had one ball.
"When you make your final stand
I'll be right there
I'll never leave
And all I ask of you is
Believe"
This is wonderful news.
Some think too much, then come too soon
I just curse the sun, so I can howl at the moon
Nothing will happen, Bettman's Boys
FSN Pitts arrogance was really on display here. Don’t you think if you did not submit all camera angles to Toronto that you would not show it to the viewers after the fact. They know nothing is going to happen. Errey is such an ASS!!!!!
Yeah, Errey can be an ass, but honestly, what does he have to do with the truck’s apparent decision to withhold the video? He can’t even control the TV replays from the booth.
Update
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguins/s_661810.html?feed=12
But here is the stunning part :
NHL officials confirmed today that this sort of investigation is rare, but stressed that the league can take no action because FSN Pittsburgh works with the Penguins and not for the league.
That is bullshit, if they were found to not give that replay to officials on purpose, then they should be held accountable, regardless if they work for the league or not.
Some think too much, then come too soon
I just curse the sun, so I can howl at the moon
They should sanction the Penguins, then.
Broad Street Hockey - SB Nation's Philadelphia Flyers Blog. Makin' it look mean since 1967.
by Travis Hughes on Jan 12, 2010 5:14 PM EST up reply actions
Except the Penguins don’t own FSN Pittsburgh nor does FSN Pittsburgh own the Penguins. All they have is a TV rights licensing deal. It’s why the Penguins had no control over FSN firing Mike Lange. The Pens do run the radio broadcast, which is why they were able to hire him for radio, but this says to me that nothing will be done.
But when you’re hiring a company to perform a service aren’t you in some way liable when they screw up?
Also, if the NHL is using FSN (and therefore every other regional network that broadcasts NHL games) for video content, don’t they have some kind of partnership? They may not work for the league, but they certainly work with the league.
Broad Street Hockey - SB Nation's Philadelphia Flyers Blog. Makin' it look mean since 1967.
by Travis Hughes on Jan 12, 2010 5:37 PM EST up reply actions
Pens are in partnership with FSN, so what FSN does represents the Pens as an organization. It’s like a using a subcontractor for a big company. What they do reflects on the rest of your business. Punish the Pens in this instance and perhaps they will think twice about working with FSN in the future (or how they work with them). Morganti was talking on DNL about stripping them of a draft pick, Patriot (Spygate) style.
My interpretation (admittedly based on a sketchy knowledge of the contracts in question)
At the least, FSN should be considered a subcontractor to the NHL (the Penguins franchise is a signatory to NHL contracts, FSN has contracts with the Penguins to provide services to support those NHL contracts). As such, FSN’s actions in this case caused the Penguins franchise to fail to live up to the terms of their contract, which state that all video feeds must be sent to the home office. As such, the Penguins have violated their contract because of the actions of their subcontractor, and should be liable to penalty. Whether or not they can penalize FSN would depend on the wording of their contract.
"When you make your final stand
I'll be right there
I'll never leave
And all I ask of you is
Believe"
So the only time the NHL can actually take action on something like this is if it happens with Versus, NBC, TSN or CBC? What’s stopping any NHL RSN from “accidentally” doing this in that case?
If what the NHL is saying is true, nothing. Which is WHY some sort of penalty has to be handed down. God forbid a team does something like that that WILL lead directly to the outcome of a game, what happens then? Oh they aren’t liable; because they do not work for the League.
Bah.
Some think too much, then come too soon
I just curse the sun, so I can howl at the moon
Actually, Comcast does the Flyers feed and Comcast owns the Flyers. So best believe that if Comcast pulled a stunt like this the Flyers would be held accountable.
And Travis is right, if the Pens contract out FSN to carry their games and provide a service, then they are financially and contractually liable for that service as it pertains to the NHL which is a governing body for all NHL teams. The NHL has to approve all contracts for each team as it relates to television and radio rights so if the NHL wanted to do something to the Pens they could absolutely do that. And the Pens in return could turn around and withhold payment from FSN or threaten to no longer use them for service. There are a ton of actions the Pens could take. But as predicted the NHL did nothing when it comes to their model franchise.
JUSTICE IS SERVED
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10012/1027693-100.stm?cmpid=latest.xml
CALGARY, Alberta — FSN Pittsburgh has suspended an employee and the Penguins have reacted to an incident from a game last week against the Philadelphia Flyers at Mellon Arena.
Some think too much, then come too soon
I just curse the sun, so I can howl at the moon
It’s something, at least. It doesn’t set a “we can get away with it if we want to” precedent, so I’ll take what I can get.
by DragonGirl0583 on Jan 12, 2010 8:47 PM EST up reply actions
Pens vs. Flyers Game on 1/24
Should start with a public apology from this douchebag employee, an apology by Mario Lemieux and Cindy, and a goal awarded to Gagne at 00:00 to start the game 1-0 Philly. Prove to the national audience that this league has integrity. Oh, who am I kidding?
Oh, and…
2008 ECF, also withheld until after the review was over. Just sayin’. Still going to complain about lack of punishment?
And had the Pens lost the ’08 ECF because of this, you had better believe you would have been calling for punishment, and justifiably so.
Honestly, I forgot all about it until someone at Pensburgh reminded me. I’m sure I was upset, but I blamed the officials on the ice for missing it and/or being out of position, not some grand conspiracy against my team like some folks here (not necessarily you, of course) are doing.
All teams have fans that think there’s a conspiracy against their team; it’s the nature of the beast, unfortunately.
My issue with this whole thing is that I cannot for the life of me understand why the league would allow this to be up to the teams’/RSN’s to submit the feeds for review. I just think that allows too much room for this sort of thing, and as we all saw from Spygate (the Pats were only doing what teams have been doing forever, but they just got caught): if you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.
What muddied the waters in all of this is that the Pens do not own FSN nor vice versa, so the league couldn’t take any action (although I’m sure they strongly suggested FSN do something about it to be proactive). It just allows conspiracy theorists to say the Pens will get off because it was fixed, rather than a complicated situation; as the Flyers, being owned by Comcast, can be punished for anything that happens. And sometimes I can understand why they feel that way, even if it isn’t the truth.
I just think something needs to be done to ensure this can’t/doesn’t happen in the future, and the best way would be to take it entirely out of their hands.
Which game was that? I honestly don’t remember it, but I’d like to go back and refresh my memory.
Broad Street Hockey - SB Nation's Philadelphia Flyers Blog. Makin' it look mean since 1967.
by Travis Hughes on Jan 13, 2010 5:10 PM EST up reply actions
Also, the difference there is that the game wasn’t broadcast by a local entity. When it’s FSN and there’s a producer making the decision and the producer’s father played for the Penguins, it’s clear that bias was involved. As much as someone wants to make the Versus/Comcast/Flyers link, there’s no bias on Versus when it comes to the Flyers.
I think most of us here denounce any conspiracy theories, for the record.
Broad Street Hockey - SB Nation's Philadelphia Flyers Blog. Makin' it look mean since 1967.
by Travis Hughes on Jan 13, 2010 5:17 PM EST up reply actions
Most of you do, quite true. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the time I spent hanging out here during the playoffs this past summer. Much more so, I have to say, than the time I endured spent with the folks on the Carolina blog. No offense meant to the guys who run it, they’re a fine bunch. :)
Then again, I always liked the time I’ve spent in your city and the people I met when I was there, so maybe I’m not quite as prone to think of everyone there as degenerates. :p
Is the puck completely over the line? If it is, it sure is close. I don’t even think video replay could overturn that…
by Mitchell Green on Jan 13, 2010 7:06 PM EST up reply actions
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